The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, signed on 31 October 1958, ensures that in member states, appellations of origin receive protection when they are protected in their country of origin. It lays down provisions defining what qualifies as an appellation of origin, sets out protection measures, and establishes an International Register of Appellations of Origin, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Agreement came into force in 1966 and was revised at Stockholm (1967) and amended in 1979 and 2015. As of July 2026, the convention had 44 signatories, covering 73 countries, and 1000 appellations of origin have been registered.
Lisbon Agreement also establishes a Special Union under Article 19 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). Some aspects of the Agreement have been superseded by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) adopted in 1994.
Geneva Act In May 2015, the Geneva Act to the Agreement was adopted, formally extending protection to geographical indications and changing the name to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications. The Act also allows intergovernmental organisations to become parties. On 21 May 2015, the Act was signed by 13 states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Congo, France, Gabon, Hungary, Mali, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, and Togo. It entered into force in 2020 following ratifications or accessions by five parties: Albania, Cambodia, the European Union, North Korea, and Samoa. As of 31 March 2026, the number of Parties is 27 (covering 62 countries), with Bulgaria as the most recent accession.
Parties The treaty applies mutually between the parties to the 1958 Lisbon Agreement and the 1967 Stockholm Act, but not between a party solely to the 1958 Agreement and another party solely to the 1967 Stockholm Act. The Geneva Act entered into force in 2020 and applies only between its parties. If a state is a party to multiple Lisbon instruments, an appellation of origin registered under any of those instruments also applies to the parties to the other instruments to which that state is a party.
State Lisbon Agreement Stockholm Act Geneva Act Registered AOs and GIsNotes African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) 0Only application to Geneva Act possible 2 7 4 32Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 0Also covered by Geneva act through OAPI accession 0 2 0 2 20 22Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 0 1 - - Continued application by Czech Republic and Slovakia 270Only application to Geneva Act possible 381Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 0 28 0 0 20Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 98 1 166Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 0 Also covered by Geneva act through OAPI accession 0 17 1 2 0 6 5 1 10 7Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 2 0 0 0Also covered by Geneva act through OAPI accession 6 7Also covered by Geneva act through EU accession 3 21 May 2015 0Also covered by Geneva act through OAPI accession 9
See also
Appellation Geographical indications
References
External links Treaty text of Original 1958 Agreement (in French), 1967 Stockholm Act (as revised in 1979 amendment) Summary of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (1958) 2015 Geneva act